A corpus-based study of research grant proposal abstracts

Abstract

In response to the recent call for development of specialized and localized corpora (e.g., Flowerdew, 2004), a corpus of Hong Kong Competitive Earmarked Research Grant (CERG) proposals is now being compiled to better understand this occluded genre (Swales, 1996) in the Hong Kong context. The present study is based on some preliminary data of 37 Hong Kong CERG research grant proposal abstracts. The study aims to offer a generic description of this sub-genre of research grant proposal abstracts, which has so far received little attention. By using Wordsmith Tools (Scott, 1996), the study integrates lexical, pragmatic analysis with rhetorical move analysis. The method used provides an example, particularly for those genre analysts who have little computer background, of how to fully exploit computer software available to help with pragmatic and rhetorical analysis. The results of the study may also provide some useful insights for Hong Kong novice grant writers.